Publishers fight for Campbell's £5m diary

Alastair Campbell is reputed to have described his diaries as his pension, a modest nest-egg to help him enjoy his retirement from the bustle of political life.

But their publication could, in fact, earn him an advance payment of several million pounds, judging by the frenzy generated by last week's sneak preview of their content. During his appearance at the Hutton inquiry, the Prime Minister's right-hand man provided a tantalising glimpse into the late-night scribblings and Cabinet table note-takings he has made during his years as Tony Blair's most trusted adviser.

The extracts he quoted were the first heard from the fabled volumes, sending the publishing world into a spin and fuelling rumours of an advance to unprecedented levels. One publishing figure estimated that Campbell's diaries could attract an advance of up to £5 million.

'If it's a no-holds-barred account of his years by Tony Blair's side and is published soon, then the diaries will be practically priceless,' said Victoria Barnsley, chief executive officer at HarperCollins, which published John Major's autobiography.

'There's no question that his use of the diaries last week in court has whetted appetites,' she added. 'I would be extremely interested in making an offer for them; I can't think of a publisher who wouldn't.'

But the price of Campbell's diaries is proportional to his loyalty: every day he delays publication after his resignation will cost him dear.

'The value of these diaries lies in them being as frank and forthright as we know the man himself is capable of being,' said Roland Philipps, managing director of publisher John Murray, which has published the memoirs of Margaret Thatcher's spin doctor, Bernard Ingham.

'The timing is crucial: if Campbell publishes while Blair is still Prime Minister, they will be worth a huge amount,' said Philipps. 'But if he waits until Blair leaves [Downing Street], they'll be worth very little in a very short time.'

Whenever he chooses to publish, there are few who believe Campbell will reveal anything that would be detrimental to Blair himself. But the extent to which he would be willing to stick the knife into other politicians is in little doubt.

'Campbell knows where everybody that has fallen during New Labour's tenure is buried. Whether he wants to dig them up is another matter,' said one.

Campbell has denied that he intends to make his diaries public at all. But publishers say his coyness has simply stoked expectations.

Anticipation soared last week following Campbell's evidence to the Hutton inquiry. In one extract, made on 1 June in the wake of Andrew Gilligan's Today report, Campbell noted: 'It was grim, it was grim for me, grim for TB and there is this huge stuff about trust.'

'Campbell's diaries will constitute the single most interesting resource about the Blair administration,' said high-profile literary agent Ed Victor.

The managing editor of one of Britain's biggest publishing houses, who asked to remain anonymous, has claimed that the diaries could attract an advance of up to £5m, but Victor is sceptical of such amounts. He estimates that Campbell could pocket £1m from newspaper serialisation rights alone, sums which usually represent half the total sum authors receive.

'These diaries will be, in many ways, more interesting that anything that Blair publishes himself because he has had such a crucial position during the last six-plus years,' he said.

'It's unbelievable how much power Campbell has had in the Government... it is entirely reasonable to wonder whether he has actually had more power than Blair at times.'

If published uncensored, Campbell's diaries are expected to contain the magic, money-making combination of entertainment and gossip with a high quality of historical perspective and political analysis. 'These books could be the most invaluable gauge ever produced of political life in the late twentieth century,' said Victor, who believes Campbell's earnings would spiral if he put the book out to auction.

'The competition created by an auction would create a feeding frenzy that might see the diaries going for a ton of money,' he said. 'Let's say I don't think he's going to need a job again after publication.'

Others in the publishing world, however, predict Campbell will simply hand the diaries over to his close friend Gail Rebuck, chief executive of Random House and married to Downing Street's polling strategist, Philip Gould. Last week Rebuck, who was on holiday with Campbell and his partner Fiona Mil lar earlier this month, had no comment to make on the diaries.

According to Robert Harris, author of the novels Fatherland and Enigma, Campbell was already anticipating earning millions from his literary exploits shortly after entering Downing Street. 'Campbell told me then that he was going to make more money out of his diaries than I have made out of all my books,' said Harris, who made £1.8m on the American rights to Fatherland.

Campbell, however, could be forced to remove some of the most interesting passages from his recollections in deference to the Official Secrets Act. This could, some say, substantially damage the worth of the final deal.

The write stuff Politicians sell their stories

Margaret Thatcher Received a £3.5 million advance from HarperCollins for two volumes, The Downing Street Years and The Path To Power.

Hillary Clinton The former First Lady secured an advance of £5m ($8m) from Simon & Schuster. Living History has already sold enough copies to cover the outlay.

Bill Clinton The former President got an advance of $10m from Knopf in 2001. The book is yet to be published.

Alan Clark Clark received an advance of £150,000 for the final instalment of his diaries, which had sold 5,000 copies by last November.

Robin Cook Simon & Schuster paid £350,000 for his memoirs due out in September.

Ronald Reagan The former President was given a £3m advance by Simon & Schuster for An American Life in 1990. The book flopped.

Edwina Currie Little, Brown paid around £300,000 for her Diaries 1987-92, but the book flopped.

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About this article

Publishers fight for Campbell's £5m diary

This article appeared on p4 of the Main section section of the Observer
on Saturday 23 August 2003.
It was published on
the Guardian website
at 07.18 EDT on Sunday 24 August 2003.
It was last modified at 19.07 EDT on Thursday 12 June 2008.